yogurt cake

To celebrate our wedding anniversary this year, I thought about making a lighter dessert to go with our equally light dinner of bean and pasta soup and spinach salad. It was a simple meal made special with the presence of my mother-in-law who's spending a week with us this summer. We certainly enjoyed her company on this memorable occasion. This cake was made with our favorite Fage Greek yogurt. The recipe was from The Book of Greek Cooking, one of my favorites from the series of cookbooks we have acquired through the years. I served it with a simple syrup flavored with orange flower water and honey.

YOGURT CAKE  (adapted from The Book of Greek Cooking by Lesley Mackley)
4 eggs, separated
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup olive or vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup plain Greek yogurt (or strained plain yogurt)
grated zest of one lemon or 1 tsp. lemon extract
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
powdered sugar to sprinkle on top of cake

Peheat oven to 375F (190C). Grease and line a 9" round cake pan. In a bowl, whisk eggyolks and sugar until creamy. Gradually mix in oil. Stir baking soda into yogurt. Stir yogurt and half the lemon zest (or 1 tsp. lemon extract). Sift flour and baking powder into mixture and fold in carefully. Beat eggwhites until stiff but not dry, then fold into batter. Pour mixture into prepared pan. Bake 40-50 minutes or until a cake tester or wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Leave in pan 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool. Dust with powdered sugar and sprinkle remaining lemon zest over the top.